Reality Partners With Merkl To Bring Stablecoin Dividends To Bitget rToken Holders In DeFi

In order to guarantee that eligible holders will still receive stock or ETF dividends while utilizing their tokenized assets via decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, Reality, the tokenization platform of Bitget’s rToken ecosystem, has collaborated with Merkl. The integration is designed to overcome the issue of ownership tracking, which can cause investors to lose out on dividend payments if their tokens are not held in their own wallets but are locked up in smart contracts.

Merkl Technology Tracks rToken Ownership Across DeFi

As part of the partnership, Merkl will leverage its reward forwarding mechanism to uncover the true holders behind rTokens that are deposited on the lending platforms, liquidity pools and staking contracts that it supports. Even if the tokens are on-chain in a protocol contract, this enables Reality to decide who’s eligible for dividend distributions.

The technology allows tracing the property through several layers of smart contracts. It also uses protocol-specific fees to determine eligible distributions. Contract compatibility can be checked by the users and developers using Merkl Studio’s Forwarder Scan tool.

“The challenge with assets held in DeFi is knowing who sits behind each position,” stated Merkl co-founder and CEO Pablo Veyrat. He then added, “Our forwarder technology traces ownership through nested smart contracts and tells Reality exactly who holds what, so dividends can reach the right people wherever their tokens are deployed.”

Reality will remain responsible for issuing rTokens and dividends on the crypto exchange. Merkl will manage the infrastructure needed to find eligible holders in the supported DeFi apps.

Bitget Expands Utility Of Tokenized Equities

The integration will also seek to enhance rTokens’ functionality beyond traditional trading. These assets are tokenized representation of publicly listed stocks and ETFs, and the eligible economic benefit will be separated from the price movement of tokens.

Net cash dividends are typically paid in USDT. The payouts to investors via DeFi platforms, however, still rely on their supported contracts and distribution conditions.

“Tokenized equities should be useful beyond trading,” said Bitget CEO Gracy Chen. She added, “If someone puts their rTokens to work in DeFi, they should still be able to receive the dividends they’re eligible for. Working with Merkl helps us address that challenge and makes tokenized equities more practical for everyday use.”

The collaboration comes on the heels of heightened activity within Bitget’s rToken system. Based on the data from DeFiLlama, the total volume of rToken transactions in June-July stands at $1.16 billion. Users involved in both cryptocurrencies and rTokens rose 23.54% month-over-month (MOM) in July 2026.